Valley Forge Letter

February 12, 1778

Dearest Elizabeth,
I am sorry that I haven't written sooner. I hope I have not caused you to worry. How are you? I hope that you are well. How is our new daughter? She has been the constant thought on my mind ever since I received your letter. I miss you terribly and the thought of coming home to you is what is keeping me alive.
The Georgia weather is nothing like what I have experienced here. The rain is colder and seems to fall on me like bad memories. The first few weeks of camp was hard because we had to sleep on the ground. When it snowed, which it did often, we had to tuck our guns between our legs so that the powder did not get wet. We had nothing but our jackets and had no blankets or shelter. I wish I had brought one of those wonderful homemade quilts that you make so well. But there is good news. We now have huts that 12 men have to share. These are not clean and they do not keep out the draft, but it is better than sleeping in the snow.
But the weather is not our main concern. Sickness has been looming over our heads and we cannot seem to beat it. Dysentery and typhus are the diseases that are our enemies now. Dr. Boto Otto opened a hospital 10 miles away from camp. The sickest of our men are taken there but most times we cannot afford the trip. It is too far of a journey with the conditions being as they are.
When I enlisted, I was honored by the fact that I would be protecting the colonies I lived in. But now I want to come home. People are getting tired. We do not have supplies because Gen. Thomas Mifflin has not been doing his job. He did not organize supplies to be brought in. But Gen. Nathanel Greene is in charge of that now and things are beginning to look up as much as they can. He has been repairing roads and we even now have a bakery thanks to him. This has boosted moral but we still are broken from all the ground and battles that we have lost. I think that from this experience, I will not enlist again.
Well my love, I must depart from you now. I have many duties that need to be done. Tell my family that I miss them and think of them often. Tell our sweet little girl that daddy loves her and give her a kiss for me. I will be home soon. You have all of my love.
Yours forever,
Daniel